There were multiple interesting articles this week to consider. I decided to focus on primary learners for the simple fact I have had the least exposure to them and want to hone my practice. I’m also very curious about how embodied learning effects children’s learning in terms of gestures and participatory technology.
Embodied learning is the concept that the whole body is participating in learning activities, not simply the brain. We learn through full body actions, not just brain processing (Winn, 2003). Winn rejected the idea that the mind and body should be thought of as separate entities and insisted that the environmental interactions are critical to learning. If the environmental learning experience is not there, the student is limited in terms of adaptation and are robbed of an authentic learning experience.
If we consider this from a primary based perspective it makes complete sense. Play based and project based learning benefits are widely accepted as being goals to strive for.
Winn (2003) discussed embodiment a “physical dimension of cognition” and regarded emeddedness, as the “interdependence of cognition and the environment”. Embodiment, to Winn, was the physical realm. In primary this translates very easily into math and science units. As Winn states though, our sensory perception is limited and artificial environments offer possibilities to explore concepts currently beyond our direct grasp. Winn was a proponent of 3D spacial environments and their potential to create deeper learning.
Barab & Dede (2007) explored mobile technologies and their potential to allow students to be “coupled.” They proposed that mobile technology would facilitate full immersion in virtual scenarios, where they would participate in the scientific process or real life investigation. They saw large potential for game based technology, which continues to gain in popularity and usage. Minecraft and other such platforms have proven to be educational and a great deal of fun for young learners and it is easy to the benefits of incorporating this into the classroom.
Zurin & Williams (2011) was particularly interesting to me and the concept of embodied learning. They discussed gesticulation and how children used it to solve problems. What interested me most about this was the realization that gestures play a major role in all of our teaching. With this being the case I wonder how I communicate physically effects the learning of concepts?
More questions I was left with:
- Gestures are very easy to observe in real life environments but how well does this translate into virtual reality? Are we at the stage that artificial environments can replicate human gestures with the same nuance?
- What types of embodied actions should teachers be striving for to better help their students?
Barab, S., & Dede, C. (2007). Games and immersive participatory simulations for science education: an emerging type of curricula. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(1), 1-3.
Winn, W. (2003). Learning in artificial environments: Embodiment, embeddedness, and dynamic adaptation. Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning, 1(1), 87-114. Full-text document retrieved on January 17, 2013.
Zurina, H., & Williams, J. (2011). Gesturing for oneself. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 77(2-3), 175-188.
Hi Ryan
I was interested in your question regarding how our gestures as educators effect our students learning. My short answer is tremendously. I am thinking in particular of a social studies unit I did with my students where they were learning their continent, country, province and city. For each category I used my arms to create circles that became smaller and smaller as we moved down to city. At first I did not realize that my gestures were having an effect on my students. When I would ask a question, “what city do we live in”, and create a small circle with my hands, my students would all shout out correctly. Then one day I did not use the gesture and they all seemed somewhat confused. It was in that moment that I realized how much they were relying on the gestures I had provided to them to understand and recall the information.
So although done unintentionally at times, I do believe that the gestures we use in the classroom does have an effect on our students. And we therefore need to be mindful of our body language and movements as our students are very receptive and use them as environmental cues in their learning process.
Shayla
Thank you Shayla,
I think it is great that you were able to have an ah-ha moment while teaching. Certainly, I agree that unintentional gestures will also have an effect.
Very recently I have been making an effort to be mindful of this. I’m curious as to what gestures may negatively affect students and how we can catch ourselves doing them? What instantly comes to mind is the expression of frustration a teacher may have. This is usually a frustration at their own inability to communicate effectively to students an idea but I can see it being interpreted in a very negative and destructive way.
Hi Ryan,
I was also interested in your question regarding gestures, and agree with Shayla’s comments above. In my 2nd grade class, we did a unit on landforms and were talking about the different kind of plate boundaries. I found a video on youtube that rapped about the different kinds, and we came up with gestures to go along. Not thinking much about it and assuming it was just a fun song for consolidation, we moved on. Later, when I’d ask the students about how the volcanoes were formed and what kind of plate movement was involved, the song and gestures came back to them:
“Convergent collide, divergent divide, transform tectonic plates sliiiiiiide!”
Hi Ryan,
Your question about gestures reminded me of the AIM program that is used to teach students a second language. They use lots of “action,” including gestures, movements, drama and music to help students learn. I think if used properly, gestures can really help students learn. There is a video on this website that explains AIM a little better.
https://www.aimlanguagelearning.com/
Do you use gestures with the older students you teach?
Nicole
Hello Nicole,
As a principal I am not teaching these days. However, I am currently making up the schedule for next year and am going to get myself back in there on a limited basis. Hearing all the stories and considering my own practice has really made me want to get back in and try a lot of the things we have been discussing. Using effective hand gestures is one of them.
Hello Amanda,
That is really interesting and speaks to the power of gestures. Certainly, there is an effect and it prompts me to wonder how much we are utilizing gestures to enhance learning in my school.